Learn Somali

Where it's spoken

Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and a global diaspora

Speakers

around 20 million

Writing system

Latin alphabet since 1972

Somali has one of the world's most widely dispersed diasporas, making it a top heritage language across Europe and North America.

What makes Somali different

• Doubled vowels mean long vowels, and they change meaning.
• The letters c and x stand for throat sounds, not English c and x.
• Poetry is central to the culture; set phrases and proverbs are everywhere.

Your first Somali phrases

Each phrase is written the way it's spelled, then respelled for English speakers with the stressed syllable in capitals.

• SalaanHello/sa-LAAN/
• MahadsanidThank you/ma-had-SA-nid/
• Soo dhawoowWelcome/soo dha-WOW/
• NabadgelyoGoodbye/na-bad-GEL-yo/
• HaaYes/HAA/
• MayaNo/MA-ya/
• FadlanPlease/FAD-lan/
• Waan ka xumahaySorry/waan ka hu-MA-hay/

Want the full list? Read the free Somali phrasebook with pronunciation, grab the free printable Somali starter kit, or compare SemaSoma with other African language apps.